Industrial Arts Design / A Textbook of Practical Methods for Students, Teachers, and Craftsmen

by William H. Varnum

Three Basic Aniline Wood Dyes

Developing this idea further, we may select aniline brilliant scarlet as approximating red; metanil yellow, approximating yellow; and acid green as a substitute for blue. These stains are shown in the top portion of [Figure 456]. By comparison with [Figure 455], scarlet is found to be orange red; metanil yellow, orange, and acid green to be true standard green. These basic stains have been located in their proper positions with regard to their hue, value, and chroma. Their positions are located by the large circles in the hue diagrams of [Figure 456].

Wood Stain Mixing

These stains are modified and reduced in chroma and value by mixing them with nigrosene black, an aniline dye of blue black appearance, which fills all the needs of an ivory black in water or oil color pigment. With these four stains, almost any commercial stain may be duplicated. Aniline dye for water stains readily dissolves in water while a special aniline for oil staining is first cut with naphtha.

Dark Mahogany Stain

Dark mahogany stain in [Figure 456] is orange red, ¾HD, and is indicated by the circle A in the same figure. To duplicate this stain we have as the nearest base stain, brilliant scarlet, which corresponds to orange red. This is placed at its full intensity in the circle OR on the middle horizontal value line. To duplicate dark mahogany stain it will be necessary to reduce in value a strong solution of brilliant scarlet, slightly more than one horizontal value step, by the addition of nigrosene. We shall then add a small amount of some thinning medium, oil or water, to reduce slightly the stain in chroma.

Flemish Oak Stain

Flemish oak stain is orange ¾D. This calls for a mixture of metanil yellow and brilliant scarlet aniline to form the orange hue. We must then add nigrosene to reduce the value to D, and add a small amount of thinner to produce the necessary reduction in chroma.

Fumed Oak Stain

This is commonly produced by fuming the wood with ammonia. The hue may however be closely duplicated by a mixture of brilliant scarlet, metanil yellow, and nigrosene. It is practically the same as Flemish oak, but possesses one-quarter more color as can be seen on the orange hue rectangle.